Transcript 

Welcome to the Hundredfold Business Podcast, where Christian men learn the principles, strategies, and tactics to grow their businesses, top line, bottom line, and finish line. I want you to discover the secret to applying Biblical truth to business growth for the greatest kingdom impact, so in the end you hear from your Heavenly Father, well done. Welcome to the Hundredfold Business Podcast, where Christian men learn how to grow their businesses top line, bottom line, and finish line.

And I'm your host Josh Fonger, founder of Fourth Soil Ventures, and today we have a very special guest, Ray Comfort. Ray is the world-renowned evangelist, best-selling author of over 100 books, and the founder and CEO of Living Waters. He is best known as the co-host of the global television program, Way of the Master, which airs in over 190 countries.

He currently hosts the Living Waters podcast alongside EZ, Mark Spence, and Oscar Navarro, where they discuss apologetics, theology, and biblical evangelism. Welcome Ray, thanks for being on the show. Appreciate being here, thank you.

Ray, as discussed before we went live, I've been a huge fan of your work over the years, and honored to have you on the show, and to discuss evangelism in the workplace. So to start, Ray, for those of you who don't know you, can you share with the audience how God has directed your path to get where you are right now? Boy, well I was born twice in New Zealand, came to live in the U.S. 1989, specifically bring a teaching to the church called Hell's Best-Kept Secret, which basically talks about how Jesus shared the gospel, totally different from modern evangelism. When a young man ran to a rich young ruler, knelt down and said, good master, how can I enter the kingdom of God? Jesus didn't say, quickly say this prayer before you change your mind.

He did something very strange. He said, why do you call me good? And then he gave him five of the ten commandments. Very interesting, it was actually more than five of the ten commandments.

Right in the middle of that, in Mark 10 verse 17 and 18, he said the words, do not extort, which is very interesting. We often think the rich young ruler was a fine young man, but I think he may have gained his riches by extortion, because Jesus dropped that in the middle of the commandments. So the teaching is this, never ever preach the gospel without preceding it by the moral law of the ten commandments, because it's what Jesus did, it's what Paul did, it's what Spurgeon, Wesley, Moody, and all the greats of the past did.

You never ever give someone a cure unless you first convince them they have the disease. And that was the teaching I was asked to bring to the U.S. back in 1989. And first three years things were quiet, then I received a call from David Wilkerson, the famous pastor preacher, and he flew me, he had heard the teaching, flew me to New York to share it with his church.

And then another well-known ministry called and had just seen it, and he filmed it in front of a thousand pastors, and then screened the video to 30,000 pastors. And so the ministry just exploded from then on, and we started a television program in 2004 that's been going for, I think, eight seasons or nine seasons, maybe ten, and it's been broadcast in 190 countries. So let me tell you a little bit about myself, because it's very interesting.

Because the television program is so well known, it's often people will come up to me and want a selfie. I was in Huntington Beach standing in front of this wall with names on it, when a gentleman stood in front of me, he was Asian, and he said, can I take a photo? And I just said, I was looking at my phone, I said, just go ahead. And he said, well, get out of the way.

He wanted to take a photo of the wall. So that was good for me to remind me that I'm a nobody from nowhere with nothing but a love for God. So that's who I am.

Right, great introduction. And so to get right to the questions about a business, for business owners, how would you go about sharing the gospel to your employees? So imagine you own a company, if you've got a hundred employees, would you share it the same way that you do when you're open air preaching? Good question. I am a business owner, I was a business owner, I had my own business at the age of 20.

People would say, what do you do for a job? I'd say, I mind my own business, what do you do? And it was actually a surf shop and a leather shop, I made leather jackets like this to order for people. And so I know what it's like to have your own business. And this is going to sound strange, but I got some advice as a businessman, this was before I was a Christian, I thought, do I go big? Do I employ people? Because I was on a wall, making leather jackets, those cowboy jackets were just taking off, I was making literally hundreds of them, making a lot of money.

And this gentleman came into my shop, my store, and he just said, I'm a businessman, I went big, my advice to you is, stay small. He wasn't talking about my stature, he was talking about how you can remain free to do what you want to do if you contain the size of your business. So that was separate or different from my ambitions, I had great ambitions, and it just made me think, do I really want to employ a hundred people and have union problems, and have wage problems, and inflation problems, and all these sort of worries.

So I did stay small, and that worked out great, because when I started itinerating as a minister, I had the freedom to do so. However, witnessing to employees, there's a way to do it, and you can do it by taking someone to lunch. You're the boss, CEO, and you take one of the employees to lunch, that's going to blow them away.

And you can say to them, I'd like to talk to you about a really important question, do you think there's life after death? Now you haven't mentioned Jesus, heaven, hell, God, sin, righteousness, or judgment, you've just said you would like to know what he believes. And that's a great way to witness, that's taken Goliath down to Zacchaeus for me. I can talk to anyone instantly about the things of God with that one question, do you think there's an afterlife? Because everybody thinks about that.

Let me give you some practical thoughts on it. Let's say a plumber comes into our ministry here, and I haven't met him. I walk in and just say, hey, how you doing, what's your name? Eric.

Eric, I'm Ray. Shake his hand. I say, Eric, he says, what? I say, I've got a question for you, do you think there's life after death? So Eric stands to his feet and says, whoa, that's the big question, isn't it? He says, yeah.

I say, do you think about it? He says, all the time. He's all the time just dissipated by fears. He's a human being.

God's placed eternally upon his heart. He thinks about the issues of life and death, and as Hebrews 2 verse 14 and 15 says, he is haunted by the fear of death all his lifetime. And so he hasn't stabbed me to death, he's not the Antichrist, he's interested in what I've got to say because he's thinking about it.

So I just say, ever read the Bible? And he says, no. I said, well, did you know in the Old Testament, God promised he would destroy death, and in the New Testament we're told how he did it. Did you know that? Suddenly Eric says, no, I didn't know that.

He's interested. Why? Because he's not a dog or a horse or a cat or a cow, he's a human being with a will to live, and God has placed eternity upon his heart. So that's a great opening.

Take him to lunch, let him talk. What do you believe about the afterlife? Do you ever read the Bible? Do you know what it says? Do you know why we die according to the Bible? The wages of sin is death. In other words, God is paying you in death for your sins.

Like a judge who looks at a criminal who's committed multiple murders, but he's not concerned. The judge says, I'm going to show you how serious your crime is. I'm giving you the death sentence.

This is your wages, this is what you've earned. And you say, sin is so serious to a holy God, he's given you the death sentence. Your death will be evidence to you that God is deadly serious about sin.

And then you can just say, do you think God's justified to put you to death, or are you a good person? And he'll probably say, yeah, I'm a pretty good person. And then you open up those commandments, as Jesus did. Whoever looks upon a woman to lust for her has committed adultery already within his heart.

He who hates his brother is a murderer. You open up the spiritual nature of the law and show what sin is, so he'll see his need of the Savior, and the cross will suddenly make sense. So you can do it with your employees by putting stuff in his mouth so you can talk to him, and then asking him questions so he'll talk about things that matter in life.

Now what about for the Christian business owner who's nervous? They're saying, well, I'm going to go through, you know, great advice, Ray, and I'm thinking about doing this, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid. What if they reject it? What if they reject the message? What if they, you know, there's awkward situations after I share? What would you say to that owner? Yeah, we're all nervous.

I get nervous, but I take no notice of my nervousness because of one principle. Think of a firefighter. He arrives at a building, fifth story, a lady's holding two kids at a window.

She's going to be burned to death in five minutes. Firefighter has to climb a 60-foot ladder with screaming sirens, screaming kids, screaming woman, smoke everywhere, heat. If he drops one of those kids, he's not going to feel too good about it, so he's terrified.

So would he rather be home with his wife and kids? Of course. How does he overcome his fears? He doesn't think about his fears. He thinks about that woman, those two children, and their fate.

And that's the key. My fears are nothing compared to what's going to happen to an unsaved person. If he dies in his sins and God gives him justice, he's going to be damned.

There's a lake of fire. What a terrifying thing. And so the Bible likens us to firefighters.

It says, this is in the book of Jude 23-24, others making a difference, having compassion, that's the key, pulling them from the fire, hating him with the garments spotted by the flesh. So forget your own fears. They are nothing.

Think of the fate of those you're going to speak to. And if he gets offended, just say, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. Yeah, have some dessert.

Change the subject. You'll be fine. Simple as that.

What about for, great for employees, now what about customers? So let's just say you have an accounting firm, and you have a thousand customers, and you're doing tax preparation for them. You don't talk to them very much, and when you do, it's just to help them prepare their taxes. What about in those situations, as a business owner and you're Christian, how do you how do you reach them, and what would you, what advice would you give? Yeah, we at Living Waters have got books.

We've got one book called Scientific Facts in the Bible, and my publishers were very kind in allowing us to get a print so that we can make these available at under a dollar each. So you just have a little stack of that, and say, well it's nice to meet you. I've got a book as a gift for you.

It's very interesting. It's called Scientific Facts in the Bible. Over six hundred thousand in print.

I'd love to give it to you as a gift. Or you can just say, Fred, appreciate you coming to do your taxes. I've got a question for you.

I'm surprised. Do you think there's life after death? And just gauge his feeling. He might go, oh, I don't want to talk about that.

Or he might say, boy, I hope so. So do you think heaven exists? And hell? He says, I don't know. Do you think about it much? All the time.

So that's your opening, and you can gauge within seconds if someone is offended talking about the things of God. But this is America. We have in God we trust on our money, and so you can actually get out a dollar, put it there, say, what do you think of that? In God we trust.

Do you trust in God? So the American government's bringing the subject up by putting that on money. So if you care, you'll make a way, and you'll be very gentle. The Bible says, the servant of the Lord must not strive or argue, but be gentle to all men.

Meekness and impatience instructing those that oppose themselves. So you can find out within ten seconds if someone's open or closed to the things of God. Top line, bottom line, finish line.

If you're not growing all three, we should talk. Too many business owners are struggling alone. Stuck in the same cycle, going nowhere fast.

Scripture says that in an abundance of counselors, there is victory. And I want to be that resource for you. For over 15 years, I've helped hundreds of small business owners break through their limits, build a solid plan, and multiply their impact.

Go to 4thsoilventures.com, schedule your free discovery call, and let's build your business by the book. Life is too short, and eternity is way too long to build it any other way. Now what about what I call third soil CEOs and business owners? This is after the parable of the four soils.

But what about those who, it's obvious that the cares, the riches, the pleasures of this world, you know, they're wealthy, successful business owners, and they may say, oh yeah, I'm a Christian. But you're not so sure, and you think they may be captivated, and you've looked at the fruit in their life, and you're concerned. What would you say to them so that they can, you know, transfer to that fourth soil, the one where they have the honest and good heart, and they have the 30, 60, hundredfold increase? Yeah, there's one question I use, and I use it all the time.

Someone says, yeah, I love the Lord, and I say, well, do you ever use his name in vain? Yeah, I do it all the time. So you can't love the Lord if you use his name as a cuss word. So I'm thinking, how am I going to witness to this person? It's very simple.

I just say, do you think you're a good person? And he'll, if he says, yeah, I am, then you know that you've got work to do. Because Jesus said, there's none good but God. None.

The heart is deceitfully wicked. So, well, I think you're a good person. Let me just ask you some questions.

How many lies have you told? Have you stolen something? Have you used God's name in vain? Have you had sex before marriage? Have you looked at women with lust? And if he says, I've done all those, say, Fred, you just told me you're a lying, thieving, blasphemous, fornicating, adulterer at heart. You're not a good person. You're like the rest of us.

So what's going to happen to you on judgment day? So if he thinks he's a good person, he's never been awakened to the serious nature of his sin, and that's what he needs, and that's what the problem is. So you've got to get to the root cause of the problem and deal with that. And you can do it, because this guy's got a conscience.

Every person you speak to has got an impartial judge on the courtroom of the mind. The work of the law is written on their heart, the conscience bearing witness. So when you say, it's wrong to lie and steal and blaspheme, isn't it? They're going to say, yeah.

Why? Because the conscience is there to accuse. So that conscience is an ally right in the heart of the enemy. It's on your side.

It'll work with you. All you have to do is stir it up a little, and you do that with the commandments. So what about Ray Comfort as the CEO? Everyone knows you as the evangelist, but you've had to lead organizations like Living Waters and had to make tough decisions about staffing, budgeting, strategy.

Can you share an example of how you've had to make choices in that leadership position? Yeah, you've got to stop the bleeding. If you've got financial problems, you've got to fire people, which is a horrible thing to do, but you've got to do it. So there's hard decisions that have to be made, but I'm very fortunate.

I have surrounded myself with God-fearing men. One in particular, my son-in-law, Ezekiel Emile Zwayne, is really brilliant and humble and loves the Lord, and he's been so helpful. He's a godsend to me.

I'll tell you why. Many years ago, I had two millionaires want to come on the board. Well, yeah, I'd love a couple of millionaires on that board.

He said, no, absolutely not. I said, why not? It's because these men are go-getters. They're ambitious.

They're rich because they've kind of stomped on people on the way there, and if you let them on your board, you will have a mutiny before you know it. You'll be tossed out because they'll see money as the object rather than the preaching of the gospel. That was a huge thing for me to understand.

On your board, surround yourself by men who fear God and are concerned for the lost. If you don't, then you're going to have problems, because rich people, if they love the Lord, will have their riches secondary, but if they don't fully love the Lord, you've got to listen to the words of Jesus. You cannot serve God and money.

You'll either love one and hate the other or love the other and hate one, and so it's very important, as I said, to make sure you surround yourself with God-fearing men, and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and those who say the fear of the Lord is a scary thing, it's not right to fear God, the Bible says the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. If you don't fear God, you haven't begun to get wise, and so it's important to find those men you surround yourself with. Well, speaking for yourself then, how have you kept yourself free from the love of money and humble with the huge platform you have today? How have you done that? I give away.

I don't hold on to it tightly. I realize it's not mine, and the Bible says those that would be rich pierce themselves through with many sorrows. It's not that those who are rich that do that, it's those that would be rich, those who let greed or covetousness get into their heart, and so I give out In-N-Out gift cards all the time.

I've always got them on me. That's the best burgers in Southern California are these, In-N-Out. Always got them on me, and I give them to unsaved people, ungodly people.

I go to the local college twice a day and to share my faith and witness and film for a YouTube channel, and when someone won't come on camera, I say, would you like to come on camera, talk about the afterlife? No. So you get a couple of In-N-Out cards, five dollar gift cards. They say, no, I don't want to.

I say, well, here are those gift cards anyway, and you should see their facial expression. They go, and that's because the world is so cold and hard. They're not used to getting given gifts for no reason, and so if you've got a little bit of money, invest it in gift cards that you can give to unsaved people and steer them towards the gospel.

I give them a gospel tract also, so that's what I do to make sure I don't love money, to make sure I've got a hand, a loose hand. So a final question, Ray. What would you say to encourage the business owner who has not yet fully embraced integrating their faith into their work? They've kept it quiet under a basket.

What would you say to them? I'd say to them, remember who gave you eyes. Remember who gave you ears. You can listen to good music.

You can see good things. You can enjoy good food because of your taste buds. You don't draw a breath without God's consent.

You can draw a breath because God gave you lungs. So everything you have, including your loved ones, the blue sky, the sound of birds, the love and laughter of friends and family, everything comes from your Creator, and you are commanded to love him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Not to tolerate him as a but to put him first and foremost in life.

The Bible says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all that other junk will be added. That's a comfort paraphrase. All the things that you need in life will be added if you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

What does that mean? It means seek first God's agenda, not yours. You should have had a Gethsemane experience if you're a Christian, where you got on your knees and you sweat drops of blood to a point where you gave up your own will. You said, not my will, but yours be done.

That's what a Christian is. Seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Always make decisions that are made with either the smile or frown of God.

If God frowns, and you know he's frowning at what you want to do, don't make that decision. Walk in the fear of the Lord, and you can have assurance that you've got God's smile. Well, Ray, thanks for sharing your wisdom on the show today.

I know this is going to be transformative for the business owners watching this. Where can the audience go to find out more information about you and your organization? Very kind of you. LivingWaters.com. A lot of free stuff.

And Living Waters YouTube or Ray Comfort YouTube. Our channel's got 1.6 million subscribers. Very interesting.

You see atheists backslide. You see people presented with the gospel and how easy it is once you understand the principles I've shared today. Very good.

Well, everyone check out those resources. I know my family has. And stay tuned to the next episode.

We'll be discussing how to grow your hundredfold business. One that glorifies God as it grows. If you need help with your business, you can always reach out directly to me at 4thSoilVentures.com. Ray, thanks again for being on the show.

And thank you all for tuning in. And until next time, grace be with you brothers.